Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

News about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 4, 2015

United States prosecutors extradite Vietnamese man, Minh Quang Pham, from Britain to face trial in Manhattan on charges he created online propaganda for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; indictment says in 2010, Pham was in Yemen, swore allegiance to Al Qaeda and helped the group produce English-language online magazine called Inspire. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

United Nations issues warning that Yemen may collapse as Al Qaeda fighters make large gains there. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Drone strike in Yemen reportedly kills four members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including prominent figure Harith al-Nadhari, who had publicly praised Paris terrorist attacks. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

CIA drone strike kills three men suspected of being members of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, tentatively identified as Awaid al-Rashidi, Abdullah Khaled al-Zindani and Mohammed Toiman al-Jahmi; drone strike, first since resignation of Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour after Houthi takeover of capital, hints that United States plans to continue its targeted killing operations in Yemen. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Op-Ed article by lawyer Martin London contends that First Amendment protections should not extend to Inspire magazine, published online by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with stated purpose of encouraging harm to United States and other countries; argues that some harmful forms of speech, including child porn, libel and slander and leaking sensitive information in times of war, are banned; urges federal government to block magazine on Web. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen abruptly resigns, along with his prime minister and cabinet; surprise collapse of American-backed government began when Houthi rebels, believed to be financed by Iran, effectively put Hadi under house arrest in call for government reform; experts warn Yemen might be rapidly approaching civil war, leaving it vulnerable to growing presence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Editorial warns that resignation of Yemeni Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi may leave country, which has been locked in conflict between Hadi's supporters and Houthi rebels, in dangerously unstable position; cautions collapse may leave country more vulnerable to influence of Al Qaeda, and urges United States and Yemen's neighbors to push opposing sides toward compromise. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

News Analysis; political crisis in Yemen is likely to continue despite agreement reached between Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels; economic collapse seems imminent since Saudi Arabia cut off financial aid to government; ongoing sectarian fighting could be exploited by Al Qaeda or become proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran; United States has no strong allies in country that is increasingly unstable. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Houthi rebels storm palace of Yemen Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, engendering fears of coup; Hadi is believed to be safe and in his home; Yemen is seen by United States as vital ally against terrorism, but it also is base of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

New York Times is criticized by FBI director James B Comey for anonymously using quote from Al Qaeda member in story on deadly terror attacks in France. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

International effort to glean information from terrorist attacks in Paris is revealing broader picture of Kouachi brothers and their potential sponsors; American counterterrorism officials believe that Cherif Kouachi, younger of two brothers who attacked French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, was main aggressor and that he got money and training from Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, which has claimed responsibility. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

Attacks in Paris by brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi are latest incidents of terrorism inspired by American-born imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by American drone strike in 2011; Awlaki has had vast influence in world of armed jihad, even posthumously; Yemen, where Awlaki was based, is seen as breeding ground for jihadists, particularly as Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, possibly linked to Paris attacks, continues to thrive there. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

American officials say Said Kouachi, one of two brothers suspected of massacring 12 people at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, traveled to Yemen in 2011 for terrorist training from Al Qaeda's affiliate there before returning to France; Kouachi and younger brother Cherif have been under observation by French and United States officials for years; French and American intelligence agencies are investigating whether Al Qaeda in Yemen is behind attack. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Yemen is reeling from some of worst violence in years as militants, particularly Sunni extremists with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, seek to regain territory captured by Houthi fighters; many in part blame country's government for failing to assert itself and leaving country rudderless. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Two car bombs explode in Rada, Yemen, killing more than two dozen people, including at least 15 children; city has been flash point between Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula and Houthi rebels. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

United States officials and Yemeni villagers offer conflicting accounts of failed effort to rescue American photojournalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie from Al Qaeda affiliate; US claims its commandos killed six people, all militants, while villager say two militants were killed along with several civilians. MORE

Dec. 8, 2014

South African man Pierre Korkie is killed by his Al Qaeda abductors in Yemen amid military operation by United States to save his American cellmate, Luke Somers; death occurs only hours before Korkie was scheduled to be released following $200,000 ransom payment by his family; US officials say they were not aware that he was about to be freed, revealing dangerous disconnect that can occur when civilians are left to negotiate hostage releases on their own. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

United States commandos storm village in southern Yemen to free American photojournalist Luke Somers but attempt results in deaths of Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie; kidnappers, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants, kill the two men when they realize rescue effort is underway. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, in video posted online, threatens to kill American hostage Luke Somers, a journalist, after failed attempt by United States commandos to free him; Somers also appears in video asking for help; Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has mostly turned away from executing hostages, choosing instead to releasing majority for ransom, so threat appears to be reaction to American raid. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

United States Special Operations forces and Yemeni troops rescue eight hostages being held in cave in eastern Yemen by Al Qaeda's affiliate there; freed captives include six Yemeni citizens, a Saudi and an Ethiopian, all of whom are unharmed; seven Qaeda militants are killed in rescue shootout. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

At least 10 people are killed in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and militants linked to Al Qaeda in central Yemen. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

Suicide bomber linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula drives car filled with explosives into hospital used as base by Yemen’s Shiite Muslim Houthi movement in Majzar, Yemen, killing at least 15 people. MORE

Jul. 3, 2014

Department of Homeland Security tightens passenger screening on many United States-bound flights from Europe, Africa and the Middle East in response to intelligence reports of increased threat from Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen; intelligence of new threat is latest indication that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is trying to bring down a United States-bound airliner. MORE

May. 15, 2014

Fighting between soldiers and militants in southern Yemen kills at least 42 people and sends residents fleeing; comes amid an army offensive against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. MORE

May. 13, 2014

Ansar al-Shariah, affiliate group of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is using stream of online videos to accuse Yemeni Army and its American allies for killing bystanders in their drone attacks and military campaigns targeting suspected militants; propaganda push comes after years of Western condemnation for civilian casualties of terrorist attacks. MORE

May. 11, 2014

New details emerge about shooting in Sana, Yemen, in which Obama administration said two Americans from United States Embassy killed two armed Yemenis who were trying to kidnap them from a barbershop; Yemeni officials say that assailants were part of a cell linked to Al Qaeda that had planned and executed several attacks on foreigners in the country; shooting offers rare look into American clandestine operations in Yemen. MORE

Apr. 30, 2014

First day of Yemeni government ground offensive aimed at dislodging militants from Al Qaeda in the southern part of the country leads to deaths of 20 people, mostly Yemeni soldiers. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

American drones and Yemeni counterterrorism forces kill more than three dozen militants linked to Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, one of the largest such attacks in months. MORE

Apr. 21, 2014

Airstrikes by drones in southern Yemen kill about 25 people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, in second operation of its kind within two days. MORE

Dec. 23, 2013

Qassim al-Raimi, commander of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, issues rare public apology in which he acknowledges that one of his fighters disobeyed orders and attacked hospital attached to Yemen's Defense Ministry during December assault that killed 52 people. MORE

Dec. 6, 2013

Suspected Qaeda members carry out a two-pronged attack on Yemen's heavily guarded Defense Ministry headquarters in Sana, killing 52 people and wounding more than 160. MORE

Oct. 19, 2013

Marcos Alonso Zea, Long Island man who authorities say tried to fly to Yemen to join branch of Al Qaeda, is charged with conspiring to commit murder overseas and other terrorism counts. MORE

Sep. 21, 2013

Suspected members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are believed to be responsible for attacks on two military targets in south of Yemen that killed at least 21 soldiers, although the government and witnesses give varying death tolls. MORE

Aug. 9, 2013

Three American drone strikes in Yemen kill total of 12 people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, raising to eight the number of attacks in less than two weeks; Obama administration is stepping up its efforts against Yemen’s Qaeda offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, amid fears of attacks after interception of message between its leader and global leader of terrorist network. MORE

Jan. 25, 2013

Yemen government says that Said Ali al-Shihri, second-ranking operative in Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, has died from wounds he received during counterterrorism operation late in 2012. MORE

Jan. 22, 2013

American drone strike east of Sana, Yemen, kills three suspected Al Qaeda members. MORE

Dec. 25, 2012

Airstrike by American drone kills two militants from Al Qaeda in Radda, Yemen. MORE

Oct. 23, 2012

Man claiming to be Saeed al-Shihri, Al Qaeda's No 2 in Yemen, releases audio tape denying reports that he was killed in American drone attack in September. MORE

Oct. 19, 2012

American-operated drone fires on group of people preparing to attack Yemeni troops, killing local leader of Al Qaeda and at least eight other potential attackers. MORE

Oct. 12, 2012

Qassim M Aklan, senior Yemeni officer working in United States Embassy in Sana, is killed in attack that security sources say bears hallmarks of regional franchise of Al Qaeda; killing comes amid sharp American scrutiny of security at foreign diplomatic posts in wake of militant assault on United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya. MORE

Sep. 12, 2012

Car bomb explodes in Sana, Yemen, alongside a convoy of vehicles used by Defense Minister Maj Gen Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, killing seven bodyguards and five civilians; Ahmed escapes unharmed; attack comes one day after a top operative of Al Qaeda was killed in what Yemeni officials called an American drone strike. MORE

Sep. 11, 2012

Airstrike kills Saeed al-Shihri, a top leader of Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, along with six others traveling with him in the southern province of Hadramawt. MORE

Aug. 19, 2012

Militants suspected of being with Al Qaeda attack a Yemeni intelligence headquarters, killing 14 people in a bold strike in the country’s main southern city of Aden. MORE

Aug. 5, 2012

Suicide bomber strikes at a funeral in a village in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan, killing at least 25 tribal fighters and wounding dozens more; bomber targeted tribesmen who fought alongside the Yemeni Army during an offensive against militants in Abyan linked to Al Qaeda. MORE

Jul. 3, 2012

Militants with Al Qaeda in Yemen post a new video online of a kidnapped Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Mohammed Khalifa al-Khaldi, appealing to the kingdom’s rulers to grant his captors’ demands and save his life. MORE

Jun. 30, 2012

United States indicts Minh Quang Pham on charges that he helped to develop online propaganda for Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen; Pham is currently being held in Britain, and is expected to be sent soon to New York. MORE

Jun. 19, 2012

Maj Gen Salim Ali Qatn, an important Yemeni military commander, is assassinated by a suicide bomber in the port city of Aden, just days after the government announced a major military victory over Qaeda militants in the region; Al Qaeda and Ansar al-Shariah, a local terrorist group it is linked to, have a strong presence in Yemen's south. MORE

Jun. 13, 2012

Yemeni government announces that the army has driven out militants linked to Al Qaeda from their southern strongholds of Jaar and Zinjibar; southern region has become a focal point of American concerns about terrorism. MORE

Jun. 8, 2012

Killing of Al Qaeda’s deputy leader Abu Yahya al-Libi is likely to accelerate a shift in power from the group’s dwindling leadership in Pakistan to its increasingly autonomous franchises, particularly the branch in Yemen; analysts say Libi's death may even augur increased violence as younger, more impetuous fighters vie to seize the mantle of global leadership. MORE

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In a letter dated Aug. 6, 2012, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and second in command of Al Qaeda, wrote to the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb about the groups’ reliance on kidnapping ransoms to fund operations.